News
News Release:
 State Tests Show San Diego Unified Students Perform Higher than Peers in Most Large Urban Districts
More students score at proficient or advanced levels
August 16, 2007

SAN DIEGO – More students in the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) scored at Proficient or Advanced levels in English language arts, science and algebra, according to results of the spring STAR tests released by the state today. The test was administered to all students in grades 2-11.

STAR Tests

The 2007 Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program included five components:
  • California Standards Tests (CST);
  • California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA);
  • California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6) for Grades 3 and 7
  • Standards-Based Test in Spanish (STS) for Grades 2 and 4; and
  • Aprenda 3 for Grades 5-11
“We’re headed in the right direction, but our schools must work hard to accelerate these gains and narrow the achievement gap,” said Carl Cohn, Superintendent of Schools. “Each year we have more ‘beat the odds’ and high achieving schools. Principals, teachers and staff at these schools deserve credit for making significant gains.”

English Language Arts

For the sixth year in a row, San Diego students increased achievement in English language arts, with SDUSD outperforming most large urban districts in California. (Long Beach and Fresno will not have their results until September.) Only San Francisco outperformed SDUSD.
  • San Diego students score above the state average.
  • Grades seven and eleven show the greatest gains in English language arts achievement.
Mathematics

Although schools declined one point in mathematics, they have made greater academic growth during the past six years than most of the large urban school districts in the state. High school graduation requirements in mathematics in SDUSD are more rigorous than in other districts.
  • All SDUSD high school students are required to take three years of college-prep mathematics. No other large urban district in California has this same requirement.
  • Nearly three-quarters of our 8th graders take algebra. The number of 8th graders testing proficient or advanced in their mathematics coursework has increased 13 points since 2002.
  • The participation rate of secondary students in mathematics tests far exceeds the state level. Seventy-two percent of our 8th graders took the standards test in algebra, compared to the state average of 49%.
Science

This was the second year students were administered tests in science under No Child Left Behind. (NCLB) Students at all three grade levels tested made gains, with 8th graders increasing seven points.

SDUSD, under a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, provides an “infusion of science activities at our elementary and middle schools,” said Geno Flores, Deputy Superintendent. “Using kits designed by Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, our teachers present research units that actively involve students in learning scientific concepts.”